No reviews for such a heart-wrenching chapter… now I feel like I made Ayame cry for nothing… Oh, well! Nothing to do but move on to what we've been waiting for, Alcea's engagement meeting with Blake! How will that turn out? What will await the two of them, and will they be able to meet their parents' expectations? Remember to review!
As for the Best Girl nominations, still going strong. Anyone else left to add?
Currently Nominated: Sango, Cynthia, Elaina, Kate, Dakota, Ayame, Marion, Kitty, Serefina, Madison
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 211
Blake felt out of place wearing a suit, and staring in the mirror made that abundantly clear. The jacket was black like the tie, and while he was used to dark clothes the formality made him uncomfortable. His hair was brushed as well, which was uncommon for him. He looked at the headphones in his hand, and frowned. He put them around his neck, and then glanced away from the mirror to the dresser below it.
In the glass of water was the iris Ayame had given him the day before. Seeing it sent a stabbing pain through his chest. What he had said to Ayame earlier today…
"She probably hates me now," Blake sighed. He didn't really blame her, after what he'd said. Really… he did want to stay with his friends. But standing up to his Richard Harker… giving up his family and running away… he couldn't do it. He couldn't lose his place there, no matter how much he wanted to remain here.
Why is it… why can't I stay here? It's not… it's not fair.
But he knew why, even when he didn't want to admit it. Not that he could bring it up to his foster father. That topic was off-limits within their house.
Blake removed the flower from the makeshift vase, running his fingers down the stem. Even after what had happened, he couldn't just throw it away. No… he didn't want to throw it away. It was a memento, of the time they'd spent together. In the end, that was what motivated him to take the iris and slip it into his breast pocket, nestling right over his heart. He took another look in the mirror. Alcea liked flowers, this would hopefully be good.
He took a deep breath and left his room to meet up with his foster father.
Richard Harker ran his eyes over Blake's body, studying him with an appraising gaze. He stopped at Blake's headphones.
"You're passable," he stated, reaching to grab the headphones around Blake's neck. "Except for this. They're out of place, get rid of them."
Richard took the headphones off of him and handed them back to Blake.
"Put those away and then we'll leave," Richard ordered. "…You still have those things?"
Blake winced.
"Throw them out," Richard said. "It's better to just forget something like that."
Blake clenched the black headphones tightly in his hand, and returned to his room, throwing them onto the bed. He returned to Richard Harker's side, waiting patiently.
"Excellent. We'll be going. I spoke with the Vermeils, and we agreed that for the sake of Alcea's comfort, the meeting will be held in the clubroom of the Gardening Club. I hear you've been there before?"
"I have."
"Excellent. Then you can lead the way," Richard decided. "Sephiria, we're off."
"Yes, sir," Sephiria nodded.
Before they left, Richard took one last passing look at Blake.
"You made a wise decision with the flower in your pocket. Alcea Vermeil is a fan of flowers. That choice shall hold weight with her, I believe. Well done."
"Thank you," Blake nodded.
The three got off the yacht, and Blake led his foster father across campus towards the Roselia Gardens and the accompanying building alongside it. The sun was low in the horizon, already beginning to set. The streetlights on campus were lit, guiding the way. But to Blake… it felt like the lights were a prelude to the darkness that was going to come upon him soon enough.
They reached the garden club, and Blake led his foster father to the door, and took a deep breath. This was it. Here was the meeting he'd been dreading, the culmination of everything he'd been trying to duck for the past few days. His engagement meeting with Alcea. If everything went well, they'd be arranged to be married. And Blake would probably have to leave. If things didn't go well, if they would require future meetings between the families, or if Alcea called the thing off altogether… things would not fare well for Blake. He gulped, and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
The door slid open, revealing a large slab of a man towering over the three. He must have been 8 feet tall, his head shaven and his expression an inscrutable frown, his eyes covered by dark sunglasses. Blake could see his muscles bulging out of his suit, and a shiver went down his spine. The man's hands were large enough where it looked like he could take Blake's head and pop it like a grape, one-handed.
"Ansem, is that the Harkers?" A strong, jovial voice came from somewhere behind the giant. The security man, Ansem, grunted something that sounded like it could have been "yes", and stepped aside. Blake entered the room alongside Richard, with Sephiria trailing behind the two of them, her eyes scanning the room as a matter of reflex.
"Ah! Richard Harker!" A tall man stood in the center of the room, a broad smile on his tanned face. His hair was a dark brown and he had a perfectly trimmed beard with a few streaks of grey. His green eyes shimmered with a passion that matched his overall energetic demeanor, and he walked up to Blake with a speed that belied his age. "And you must be Blake Harker! Hah! I must say, Richard, your sons are quite a pair of lookers when compared to you, ahaha! Must be all those genes they got from their mother! Must say, my girls are the same way, they're both as cute as their mother, ahahaha!"
Richard laughed as well, one of his laughs that Blake recognized as possibly being genuine. Blake also noted he hadn't bothered to correct the laughing man's assumption that Blake was his biological son. Instead he wore a smile as the man aggressively shook Blake's hand.
"Blake Harker!" The tall man turned to him, his smile widening. He clasped Blake's hand and shook it vigorously, jerking Blake's arm up and down. "I'm Louis! Louis Vermeil! It's a pleasure to meet you, my boy! Allie's going to be quite happy with a husband as handsome as you!"
"Um…" Blake wasn't sure how to react to that, but he kept a composed smile on his face and politely returned the man's greeting.
"This is my wife, Julianne," Louis said, turning to the woman who, judging by her long and silky crimson hair and green eyes was Alcea's mother. She was wearing an elegant red dress tied up over the right shoulder, with a white rose pinned to the breast. Her face was showing a few traces of age, but she was still as gorgeous as her daughter. She bowed her head in greeting and shook Blake's hand, and Richard's hand as well.
"Now that you're here, perhaps Allie can come out now," Julianne laughed. "She was making a big deal about getting prepared for this evening, I'm certain you'll be pleased."
Julianne turned to a door connecting to one of the adjoining rooms.
"Allie? You can come out now!"
A few moments later, the door opened, and Alcea stepped out. Blake did a double take. He'd known from the day he met her that Alcea was a gorgeous girl, one of the most beautiful women he'd ever met. And today, she blew that first impression out of the water completely. Her pale skin was glowing in the light of the room, and made her rose-colored hair glistened. The locks that framed her face were curled instead of straight like usual, and the hair in the back tugged to give it an air of bounciness. Blake didn't think it suited her as well as her normal appearance, but it was still stunning. The real eye-catcher was her dress, which had a plunging neckline to reveal her cleavage, with a pendent made of a large green stone lying between her beasts to draw the eye. The straps of her crimson dress gave out into long sleeves with white lace, and the pleated skirt of the dress was lined in lace as well, covering Alcea's black tights. Her crimson heels finished the look.
Alcea beamed at Blake, her crimson lips painted into a polite smile. She gripped the hem of her dress and curtsied to Blake, much like when she first met.
"Bienvenue, Blake Harker," Alcea greeted him. "Mon nom est Alcea Vermeil."
"Bonjour, Alcea Vermeil," Blake greeted her back he stepped up to her and took her hand in his, pressing his lips to it as he'd been instructed. Alcea giggled in response to his gallant greeting.
"Wh-wh-wh-whaaaat?! What kind of greeting is that?!" Blake raised his head to see a girl standing in the doorway behind Alcea, her face bright red. She had short brown hair lying flat on her head, reaching down to the nape of her neck. A violet ribbon went over it to frame her bangs, but didn't stick up the way Ayame's did. The girl's dark green eyes were twisted into a look of anger, her face bright red in embarrassment. She wore a dress in midnight purple that wasn't as fancy, or revealing, as Alcea's was, but clung nicely to her slender figure and modest chest. She looked rather nice, although her expression was sour in a way that seemed oddly familiar to Blake…
"Sorry, who are you?" Blake asked, turning to the brunette.
The girl's scowl deepened.
"It's Kate!" Kate screeched, storming over to him. "Are you saying you couldn't recognize me?!"
"Uh…"
This was probably not the time to tell her that his mental picture of Kate was that of a scowling pinecone with eyes.
"You changed your hair, sorry, I didn't realize." An understatement if there ever was one, with her messy hair practically glued in place, Kate looked like an entirely different person.
"I put a ribbon in my hair! Didn't you notice?!"
"Ahem."
Alcea cleared her throat, smiling sweetly at Kate.
"Kate, I believe I mentioned you could accompany me so long as you retained a certain level of decorum, did I not?"
"Y-yes, milady…" Kate said, nodding her head.
"Excellent. Please prepare the tea for my dear parents and esteemed guests, if you would?"
"Yes, milady," Kate repeated, moving to go begin brewing the tea.
"Now, Blake, a good time to begin, is it?" Alcea asked. She gave him a knowing look, that told him it was his time to initiate. Blake nodded and held out the crook of his arm. Alcea linked her arm with his, allowing Blake to escort her to the large table that had been prepared for their coming meal. Three chairs were on either side of the table, facing each other. He stopped in front of one of the seats at the center and separated from Alcea, pulling her chair out and stepping aside. Alcea thanked him and took her seat, sitting with her back straight and her hands in her lap, her legs parallel. With her composed smile, she was the picture of perfect poise and posture.
Blake walked around the table and sat down himself, sitting opposite to his intended wife, while Alcea's father mimicked his prior actions with Julianne, before sitting to the left of Alcea himself. Richard sat down at Blake's left as well, leaving the seat to his right loudly vacant.
"A pity Blake's mother couldn't be here today," Louis laughed. Whether he knew of the extent of Cynthia's condition was hard to say, but Blake assumed he was unaware. His voice lacked any traces of malice. Blake's eyes glanced to his foster father, to see what Richard's reaction would be. If mention of his wife bothered him, he was doing an excellent job at not letting that be known. Instead, he wore a small, business-like smile.
"Sadly, my wife's condition makes travel an impossibility," Richard "explained" to the man across from him. "She sends her regards, along with her regrets. But the doctors were quite insistent."
"A pity," Louis laughed. "I'd have quite liked to meet such a fearsome trainer! Hah! Though our Allie is no slouch in that regard, either!"
"Indeed, why, ever since she was a little girl, Allie has had quite the fondness for pokemon battles, isn't that right, my dear?" Julianna asked, turning to her daughter. "Back home, she even competed in a tournament or two."
Blake and Alcea shared a look, both resisting the urge to burst out laughing. Kate was having much less success, having to clamp her hand over her mouth as she brewed the tea.
"My son Kanone is quite an excellent trainer as well," Richard added, his face brightening in the way it always did when he talked about his real son… the only one of his children, in his eyes, worth any level of acknowledgment.
"I know, we've seen him quite a bit while zapping the television," Louis said. "But what about Blake? After all, he's enrolled here, so he must be a decent trainer, ain't that so?"
Richard smiled coolly.
"Blake is still learning, of course," Richard said. "His love for his pokemon is quite admirable. Fine qualities to have in a pokemon trainer, to be sure."
"Indeed, that's something that can't go unstated," Louis agreed.
Blake noted bitterly that no compliments at his actual ability at battling had been given, to zero surprise.
"Actually…"
Alcea's voice entered the conversation with such a gentle ring that the rudeness of her interruption went unnoticed. The two men glanced at her in interest.
"A few months prior, Blake participated in the Fall Festival Tournament, a school event held for sophomores and freshmen to test their skills at the beginning of the school year," Alcea explained. "Blake not only managed to defeat one of my prized pupils…"
The teapot nearly slipped from Kate's fingers, but she recovered fast enough to save the day.
"…He also managed to advance all the way to… the top 8, is it? Of the entire sophomore and freshmen student body. Hardly what one would consider untalented, is it?"
Blake looked gratefully at Alcea, he could kiss her for her kind words.
"Top 8? Wow, that's something to be proud of, alright!" Louis laughed. "Well done, my boy! Haha! Looks like that brother of yours ain't the only talented trainer in the family!"
"So you placed in the top 8," Richard said, almost sounding surprised. To someone who didn't know him, you might think he was speaking admiration or acknowledgement. But Blake knew the weight of those words, and they were saying "as expected, you couldn't even reach the top 4, let alone win the entire thing."
"It's a pity that he'll be leaving the school, then," Julianna sighed. "If things work out, we plan to have Allie at the very least continue her education until graduation, could you not do the same for Blake?"
Blake's eyes widened at Julianna's proposition. His eyes slid to look at Richard. If Alcea's family was okay with it, then wouldn't that mean he could…
"Unfortunately, that would be unnecessary," Richard said, shaking his head. "Lady Alcea's skills and future in pokemon battling are quite admirable, it makes excellent sense for her to further her education. As for Blake, I couldn't bear to make such a lovely young lady have wait a full four years to have a husband. A year, perhaps, but it is important to integrate Blake into my company."
"Oh?" Louis raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I wasn't aware you planned to have Blake working for you."
"Indeed," Richard said, nodding. "As you are aware, the Harker Conglomerate holds business in several industries, including real-estate, construction, energy, pokeball manufacturing, and medical investment, among others. But with my son's talents, I see a future line of growth to progress on."
"Oh?" Louis asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Blake has quite a proficiency for style and care," Richard explained. "Be it human or pokemon, he has a talent for drawing out their inner beauty. I plan to branch my company out into pokemon care and cosmetics, and Blake plans serve a major role in spearheading that endeavor. More than as a pokemon trainer… we agreed that this is an area where his skills will truly be able to shine. So I plan to take him out of school here, and begin grooming him for that position immediately."
"Is that right?" Louis said, glancing at Blake.
Blake nodded his head, less in agreement and more in stunned silence. To think that Richard Harker would be levying such praise on him… it was an experience that he had not had until now. While it was clearly to further his own ends, just hearing Richard Harker, the closest thing Blake had to a father, talk about him that way… it made him feel a sense of pure joy in his chest.
"Why, how lovely," Julianna said, touching her hand to her cheek. "To think that you already have a good career prepared for you! Allie will be a pokemon master, while you would support her with your work in the company."
"Of course, our family would be more than capable of supporting her dreams," Louis laughed, "so it really isn't necessary, but to have a husband with his own goals and forward ambitions in his company, we couldn't hope for better!"
"Indeed, and with a family of her own to look after, Allie will certainly spend much more time in Kalos than she would on her own," Julianna agreed. Blake caught a twitch in Alcea's eye that indicated towards some suspicions about what her family would be getting out of this. As Kate was serving the tea, a glance at the sorrow on her face confirmed it.
Ironically, they're marrying Alcea off to keep her home, huh? Or at the very least, close by… I see. That makes an unfortunate amount of sense.
Blake and Alcea shared a look as they sipped their tea. Neither one was particularly thrilled at the fact that their parents were already discussing the finer details of their relationship like it was a sure thing. It was abundantly clear to the both of them that their own wants on the topic were secondary, even if everyone there appeared to have the best intentions for them.
"In the meantime, Louis, I was considering discussing the future relationship of our companies, considering our kids' impending nuptials," Richard broached the topic he was interested in for the start, much to Blake's non-surprise.
"Ah! I was thinking the exact same thing," Louis laughed. "Indeed, Malva Corp. could stand to benefit quite a bit from this union. There's quite a lot to discuss.
Alcea drained her teacup and set it down, taking the initiative to turn and talk to her father.
"Father, may I make a request?" Alcea asked.
"Why, of course dear. What is it?" Louis asked.
"While the food is being prepared, I find myself wanting to speak with Blake a little more, in private," Alcea carefully crafted her lie, her eyes sliding to Blake in a knowing look that said "play along". Blake nodded, and kept his mouth shut. "To that end, I was wondering if it would be possible for Blake to accompany me on a walk through the garden. Would that be acceptable?"
"Oh my! How romantic!" Julianna cooed, clapping her hands together.
"Certainly, I couldn't have suggested a better plan!" Louis laughed. "Richard, you and I will discuss the boring business end of things, while we let the kids get together and have fun on their own, sound good?"
Richard glanced at Blake.
"Fine with me," he agreed. "I have full faith that Blake will serve as a perfect gentleman."
"Oh, perhaps Ansem should go with them, just in case?" Julianna asked.
"No need, mother," Alcea said, smiling sweetly. She held up her rose-red handbag. "My pokemon are the most suitable bodyguards I could ask for."
"If you say so, dear," Julianna said, nodding. Blake and Alcea both left their seats, Blake walking around and offering his arm to Alcea, who took it.
"We shall be back soon," Alcea said, smiling to the three parents. She glanced at Kate, who was staring anxiously at her, and whispered the briefest of "sorry"s to her. Kate nodded her head glumly.
Louis and Richard were already lost in the business discussion, Julianna looking after Alcea briefly.
"Come back soon," Julianna called. "The food will arrive shortly!"
"Oui, mother," Alcea agreed, Blake "escorting" her out the back door of the Gardening Club, and toward the Roselia Gardens on the other side of it. But really, Alcea was the one leading him, and not the other way around. The minute the door closed behind them, Alcea's hand dropped to her side, as did Blake's. The two relaxed, and glanced at each other.
"Ha… ha!" Alcea chuckled. "Quite a ridiculous evening, is it?"
"No kidding," Blake sighed, reaching up to scratch his hair before catching himself, not wanting to risk wrecking his hairdo and getting chewed out by his foster father.
Alcea strolled towards the entrance of the massive garden she'd so lovingly cared for, her red hair and dress lit by the streetlights, boldly standing against the night sky. The expression on her face was sad, much to Blake's surprise.
"Our parents speak as though it is already decided," Alcea murmured, reaching out and running her finger across the petals of one of the many roses decorating the outer hedge of the garden.
Blake stepped up beside her, but didn't say anything. All he offered in response was a shrug of his shoulders, to which Alcea responded with a chuckle.
"It seems that if things go on like this, you and I really will be married," Alcea murmured, glancing back at Blake, her green eyes wet against her glowing face. "Perhaps… that would not be such a bad thing, after all."
So the engagement meeting seems to be going well. I'm certain nothing questionable will occur in the slightest. In the meantime, remember to review!
